Event Title

The Development of Crossmodal Attention: A Study Using an Attentional Cueing Task

Presenter Information

Kaetlyn Schmittgen, Oberlin College

Location

Science Center, Bent Corridor

Start Date

9-26-2014 12:00 PM

End Date

9-26-2014 1:20 PM

Poster Number

27

Abstract

Many studies have examined the interaction between attention and multisensory integration in adults; however, little is known about how this complex relationship develops during childhood. In the current study, I investigated the development of multisensory attention using a crossmodal orthogonal attentional cueing paradigm. Adult studies of this task, including my previous work, have shown that a stimulus in one modality can shift the spatial attention in another modality. For example, an auditory cue presented in the left periphery will speed the detection of a visual target presented on the left but slow the detection of a target on the right. I adapted and verified an audiovisual child-themed version of the attentional cuing task for use with children, varying the auditory cues and the temporal relationship—called stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA)—between the cues and the visual targets. These manipulations allow me to investigate the differential effects of cue validity and cue type on response time (RT). The age range included in the study spanned from four to seventeen years old for the child participants and from eighteen to forty years old for the adult participants. In my analyses, I look at developmental differences in global reaction time, effects of SOA on RT, effects of cue validity on RT, and magnitude of facilitation following valid compared to invalid cues.

Award

Oberlin College Research Fellow (OCRF)

Project Mentor(s)

Leslie Kwakye, Neuroscience

Document Type

Poster

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Sep 26th, 12:00 PM Sep 26th, 1:20 PM

The Development of Crossmodal Attention: A Study Using an Attentional Cueing Task

Science Center, Bent Corridor

Many studies have examined the interaction between attention and multisensory integration in adults; however, little is known about how this complex relationship develops during childhood. In the current study, I investigated the development of multisensory attention using a crossmodal orthogonal attentional cueing paradigm. Adult studies of this task, including my previous work, have shown that a stimulus in one modality can shift the spatial attention in another modality. For example, an auditory cue presented in the left periphery will speed the detection of a visual target presented on the left but slow the detection of a target on the right. I adapted and verified an audiovisual child-themed version of the attentional cuing task for use with children, varying the auditory cues and the temporal relationship—called stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA)—between the cues and the visual targets. These manipulations allow me to investigate the differential effects of cue validity and cue type on response time (RT). The age range included in the study spanned from four to seventeen years old for the child participants and from eighteen to forty years old for the adult participants. In my analyses, I look at developmental differences in global reaction time, effects of SOA on RT, effects of cue validity on RT, and magnitude of facilitation following valid compared to invalid cues.